OAK BROOK, Ill., Jan. 24 /CSRwire/ - In recognition of its ten year commitment to sustainable fishing practices, McDonald’s USA (NYSE: MCD) announced today it would become the first national restaurant chain to adopt the Marine Stewardship Council’s blue ecolabel on its fish packaging in restaurants nationwide.

As one of the largest single buyers of fish in the US, McDonald’s scale will help assure that growing seafood demands are balanced with MSC’s responsible sourcing practices to maintain the health and sustainability of fish stocks for the future. Sustainable fish sourcing is part of McDonald’s broader commitment to sustainable sourcing and 100 percent of all fish sold in its US restaurants has been certified sustainable.

“McDonald’s collaboration with the Marine Stewardship Council is a critical part of our company’s journey to advance positive environmental and economic practices in our supply chain,” said Dan Gorsky, senior vice president of U.S. supply chain and sustainability. “We’re extremely proud of the fact that this decision ensures our customers will continue to enjoy the same great taste and high quality of our fish with the additional assurance that the fish they are buying can be traced back to a fishery that meets MSC’s strict sustainability standard.”

According to MSC Chief Executive Rupert Howes, today’s announcement from McDonald’s USA is the culmination of successes stemming from a working, collaborative relationship.

“Through this partnership with McDonald’s, millions of McDonald’s US customers each day have an opportunity to recognize and reward sustainable fishing practices that not only preserve fish stocks, but support seafood industry livelihoods and communities that depend on fishing,” said Howes.

MSC certification indicates that over 14,000 McDonald’s restaurants across the US have met the MSC Chain of Custody standard for traceability, which is the ability to track the fish all the way back through the supply chain to the fishery.

Under the MSC certification program, these fisheries have been assessed by independent scientists against three core principles: the health of the fish stock, the impact of the fishery on the ecosystem and the management system that oversees the fishery.

“World Wildlife Fund supports the MSC as the only credible standard for sustainable wild-caught seafood. McDonald’s decision to display the MSC ecolabel on its seafood products gives consumers a way to contribute to the conservation of the world’s biodiversity,” said Bill Fox, vice president and managing director of fisheries at World Wildlife Fund. “It also demonstrates McDonald’s leadership in feeding a growing population while helping to maintain healthy fisheries.”

In 2011, McDonald’s introduced the same MSC certification for all its European restaurants. McDonald’s USA also worked with the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership and Conservation International for more than ten years to support sustainable fishing practices.

"McDonald’s has played a leadership role in supporting sustainable fisheries for a decade and has consistently been at the leading edge of activities to improve the management of our oceans,” said Jim Cannon, chief executive officer for the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership. “McDonald’s understood the importance of sustainable seafood ahead of others in the business and adopted a visionary approach of supporting the improvement of fisheries rather than just switching to other sources. Sustainable Fisheries Partnership has been proud to work with McDonalds for many years and has seen huge improvements in the quality of fisheries management as a result of our joint efforts."

The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an international non-profit organization set up to help transform the seafood market to a sustainable basis. The MSC runs the only certification and ecolabelling program for wild-capture fisheries consistent with all major international labelling guidelines. MSC is consistent with requirements for by ensuring:

Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

In total, more than 285 fisheries are engaged in the MSC program with 179 certified, 109 under full assessment and 40 to 50 in pre-assessment. This represents over 10 per cent of the annual global harvest of wild capture fisheries. Worldwide, more than 17,000 seafood products, which can be traced back to the certified sustainable fisheries, bear the blue MSC ecolabel.

For more information on the work of the MSC, please visit www.msc.org.

About McDonald's USA

McDonald's USA, LLC, is the leading foodservice provider in the United States offering a variety of wholesome foods made from quality ingredients to more than 25 million customers day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at any of the 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and menu items.

McDonald's Corporation

McDonald's is the world's leading global food service retailer with more than 35,000 locations serving approximately 70 million customers in more than 100 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business men and women.